Jack Under Fire
by horn-head
Summary: On her 16th birthday, Mary was ripped out of her father's world and thrown into nobility. Now, she's facing marriage and only one person can save her, but it won't be easy.  JackOFC


**Disclaimer: If I owned Johnny Depp, I would have niehter the time nor the energy to be playing around on the internet. Savvy:p (And I don't own the rest, either. More's the pity. I could use that money...)**

**Author's note: Yep, I actually branched out from Harry Potter into a new realm of fics. This is the first time I've written POTC, but hopefully you can't tell.** **Review, please?**

Mary paced the length of her bedroom. Tomorrow she would be wed and there would be no more adventures. Trusting her father to figure out the message was against the odds, but it was her only hope. If, however, he was still in Jack's crew…

Jack. Her darling Jack. Thinking back on the fun they had together on the Bloody Raven, she smiled. Her mother had died giving birth to her sister and Mary was given over to her father's care. Stepping on board a ship full of gruff-looking men, she had been terrified. Everything was so different from the fine house and clothes that she was used to. Even at ten years old, she knew that she was about to undergo a vast change in her daily life. Gathering herself up, she did what any girl would do when told that her pony couldn't go on the ship with her; she cried.

No one on the crew knew what to do. They weren't experienced with how to get a little girl to stop crying and so chaos insued. Then a young man happened by. Seeing how out of sorts the sailors were (and being in the market for a job) he received permission to come aboard and started showing the girl tricks. Pulling a ha'pence out of her ear got the girl's attention, walking during a handstand got a smile, and pulling a flower out of the air got Jack a job.

The crew, feeling that having one little girl on board was bad luck enough, had flatly refused when her father mentioned getting a governess. So, seeing an opportunity to keep the crew, the captain, and his daughter happy, Jack was hired.

He had helped her through the period of adjustment and was soon teaching her all he knew about navigation, rigging, and the stars. She, in turn, taught him the proper way to walk in a skirt (she still didn't know why he wanted to learn that) and how to read and write. The fine dresses were gladly discarded in favor of trousers and a shirt, so that she could climb the rigging to learn about sails. The hair was shorn short as the wind made brushing long hair too painful. The pony was forgotten when presented with a curious little monkey that she could keep as a pet. She transformed completely into a tiny little pirate, albeit one who's favorite pastime was trying on various pieces of jewelry and new shoes.

And so she had become a part of the crew, a very spoiled and coddled member of the crew. She had taken on responsibilities like organizing the charts and polishing the captain's shoes and had been completely happy for six years. Later, she would learn that her grandmother, Margaret Beauchard, had men looking all across the seven seas for her. For the moment, she was blissfully ignorant.

The day of her sixteenth birthday, it had all come to an end. They had docked in the tiny little town of Shipwreck to go on a picnic (by this time, they were all under Jack's command. Convincing him that a picnic on the beach was a good idea took her a bit of work, but she won the argument like she always had with him.) Her father had disappeared, she assumed it was because he wanted to buy her a present, and so it was just Jack who took her to a secluded little cove where they set up their tea. They had watched the dolphins and had what had been a strained conversation that she couldn't fathom to this day.

"Jack," she had said. "Will I be a part of your crew forever?" Her fingers skimmed the water and a passing fish stopped to nibble on them.

He gave her a nervous look and gulped before answering. "Yes, I certainly hope so. As a matter of fact…"

"Oh look! That one just caught a fish," she interrupted, pointing to a dolphin some twenty feet away. "Good job!"

Jack gave her a strained smile and put his hand on her shoulder. "Mary, I have a present for you, but first I need to ask you a question."

She brightened at the mention of a present and eagerly awaited whatever he would ask.

He smiled, twitched, and sighed. "Well, what I really wanted to ask you is…" he sighed. "Would you… do you… My honor hand Mary take?" he finally blurted out.

Mary drew back from him. "What? Jack, are you feeling alright?"

His shoulders slumped and he gave her a half hearted smile before saying, "Well, no. But the thing that needs asking must be asked to receive the answer that the questioner quests, else the asking party will never know the thoughts of the answering one."

She had grinned at him and went back to teasing the fish. "That's my Jack. Now, what's this question?"

He stood and began to pace, waving his hands around, before starting. "Well, it has occurred to me that I am in need of certain things now. These things are not things that one can get on their own, but must have a partner for and I was wondering if you would do me the honor of helping me get them, so to speak."

Mary stood. "Oh, we're going to loot someplace? What do you want me to do? Shall I do the innocent young maid routine again?"

Jack stopped her and put a finger to her lips. "First of all, enough questions. Secondly, you do the innocent young maid routine entirely too well for my taste. Thirdly, that was not what I had meant." He took a deep breath and smiled at her as he felt in his pocket. Feeling nothing there, he glanced down. Patting every pocket in his clothing, he gave her a panicked look before turning green and saying, "Will you excuse me for a moment? I have forgotten something back on the ship." Mary waved him away and shook her head as she looked out to the sea.

She never found out what it was that Jack had tried to ask her, because she was bound hand and foot and off to London by the time he came back. Her grandmother had found her and she was to become a proper young lady.

The next ten years were torture for her. She had been forced back into the confining dresses and made to behave like a proper young lady should. Though it wouldn't seem like it, the problem that was the hardest for her to deal with was being courted by gentleman after gentleman. They all thought of her as some delicate little doll that couldn't stomach to hear of "men's business." The first one was informed that she had killed more men than he had, not to mention had a better understanding of ships and sailing and was sent running. A bout with a switch made her think of other ways to drive them away. One was made to believe that he had gone insane, another was told that her grandmother would kill any man that made a mistake during their marriage, and one cad of a fellow lost interest because she was saving herself for marriage. All in all, none of them could handle having a wife like her and they knew it.

Nicholas was a problem, however. He didn't give a fig what she did. He was just after the title she would inherit when, as he put it, the Old Nag died. Several plantations, a coal mine, and a grand estate in London were to be given to whomever held the title, so he didn't care what she did, as long as he got to reap the benefits of a well appointed larder. He had responded with apathy to every one of her tactics, including her burning desire to enter a nunnery.

What was worse was the Old Nag herself, Margaret. She had threatened to send Mary off to a convent if she hadn't found a husband by her twenty-sixth birthday. As that day crept closer and closer, she realized that she had scared away all of the decent men. Since being married to Nicholas would mean that she would still have access to the sea, she resigned herself to her fate.

The only thing that could keep such a dreary future away was her father. If he could arrive in time tonight, she could go and sail the seas again and never worry about being proper again. The time until it was too late came and went and Mary collapsed onto her bed with a sob. He hadn't gotten then letter in time, he wouldn't make it.

The chambermaid came in and started bustling around the fire, then went to the wardrobe to fuss around a bit more. Mary didn't care; she had more important things on her mind. It wasn't until the maid came up to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder that she looked up and right into the face of Jack Sparrow.

Freezing in shock, her eyes grew wide and her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Jack? Here? And in a dress?

He shook his head at her and motioned for silence. "Don't worry about that now, love. We have to get out of here without stirring the guards outside your bedroom.

_Guards?!_ Mary thought. _She posted guards?_ "Well, that won't be a problem, I hope. There's another way out, isn't there?"

Jack looked around and shrugged. Standing back up, he fixed his wig and his skirts before going over to the fireplace. "She certainly seems to have done a good job of keeping you in. Ol' What's-her-Face must've had a feeling you'd try to run for it."

Mary thought for a moment before brightening. Going over to the bellpull, she rang for the chambermaid. Jack opened his mouth just as the door creaked and he barely had enough time to hide behind a curtain as the real chambermaid, a plump woman in her fifties, stepped into the room. "Yes, Miss?" she asked.

Mary smiled at her. "Ella, I need your help with something." She looked at the guards peering in the room and snapped, "Back to your stations! You are here to make sure I don't get out, not to come barging into my room when I'm so indecently dressed, are you not?" The two quickly vanished and she motioned for Ella to close the door. Walking over to her, she grabbed her hands and rushed her over to the bed.

"Ella, the most wonderful thing has happened! I want to show you, but first I need your word that you'll not tell a soul!"

Ella looked a bit perplexed for a moment before breaking into a wide smile. "Hector came for you, didn't he, Miss?"

Mary shook her head. "No, actually. He sent a man who is better suited for the job. Jack, come here."

Jack wearily stepped out from behind the curtain, looking a little peaky. "Hello," he said to the woman he had been impersonating.

Ella didn't quite know what to think, Mary decided. All right, so Jack had done a very poor job on make-up and an even worse one on the clothing, but he had looked enough like he belonged that he had fooled the guards.

The maid tsked and started fixing his dress and hair, which were a bit mussed from the curtain. Muttering things about "vigilance" and "doing their duty," she had him fixed into some semblance of a woman in no time. Then, all business, she turned on Mary. "This is your rescuer, is it? He is in your room late at night when you are undressed and you pay no mind to this fact. Is he just some cur with half an idea on how to get in and none on how to get out?"

Mary shrugged sheepishly and wrapped her arms around herself. "Well, I was hoping that you could help with that."

Ella rolled her eyes and shook a finger at her. "I have taken care of you since you got here, girl. Don't you think that it's about time for you to take care of yourself?" She softened when she saw the look of despair on Mary's face and sighed. "Well then, I guess you'll just have to do things the old fashioned way. There will be no guards outside your window in ten minutes time. I'll lure them away to carry some chairs into the ballroom and I will meet you down by the old farmstead up the road."

Mary jumped up and hugged the old woman before rushing over to her wardrobe to find something suitable to wear. Chemises were nice for sleeping in, but they weren't built for running through the countryside. Pulling out all of the clothing in it, she realized that she didn't have anything suitable. Well, that was a problem. Shoving it all back in, she closed the doors before going to a table with a box on it. Grabbing all of the jewelry out of it, she stuffed it into her bodice before glancing out the window. Ella was there, talking to the guards, so it wouldn't be long now. Waiting for them to reluctantly leave their posts felt like an eternity.

When they had finally followed the chambermaid inside, Mary stifled a whoop of pleasure. There would be time enough for noise making later, for now she had to get out of here as fast as possible. Jack pulled a length of rope from under his skirt that he had wrapped around his waist and they tied it to the bedpost. Mary watched anxiously as he descended until he was safely on the ground and then went down herself. From there, it was a short sprint across the courtyard and a casual gait past the guards and she was free. Grinning at Jack, she caught his hand in her own and squeezed it as they walked out of sight of the guardhouse before breaking into a run for the farmstead.

Running through meadows and past sleepy cows, Mary felt more herself than she had in ten years. She also felt extremely out of shape. She had done her best to keep herself athletic, but that wasn't proper for women of her station, so Margaret put a stop to it any time she heard about it.

Slowing down, Mary continued running until she was in sight of her destination. Then, stopping to catch her breath, she was pleased to see that Jack was panting nearly as hard as she was. Standing straight, she continued walking and was pleased when Jack put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Now you get to go home. Your father sends his regards, by the way. He was sorry he couldn't make it, but he looks absolutely hideous in a dress."

Mary laughed. "Is that so? Well, he would look much better with a shave, in any case."

She watched as Jack frowned and felt his clean-shaven chin and something occurred to her. "You did that for me?" she asked. "I thought nothing could get you to shave that scraggly thing off?"

Jack pulled on the door handle of the barn and held it open for her. "Well, love, I thought so, too. But of all my crew, I'm proud to say that I look best in a dress and there was this friend of mine in need of a man in a dress to get her out of a rather ill suited marriage, savvy?"

Mary smiled at him. "Yes, I savvy. Thank you for being there for me," she said as she kissed him on the cheek and walked inside.

Jack's POV

Jack was elated. A kiss on the cheek, that was a start. And now he had her all to himself in an empty barn for a while until Ella arrived with whatever it was that would get them out of here and back onto the sea. Straightening his hat, he followed after her with a smile on his face and a bounce to his step.

She was looking around and worrying at her lip. "Jack, there's no hay here. What will we sleep on?"

He thought for a moment before replying, "You've forgotten the first rule of being on the run, love. Always have one person awake to alert the other of any odd noises. We'll sit against the wall and you can lay your head on my chest, how's that?"

Mary shrugged and found a spot to sit and patted the ground next to her for Jack. As he sat, he realized that he was about to have her body pressed up against his all night. Oh yes, he would be staying awake. Putting his arm around her, he smiled as she found a comfortable position. She hadn't lost any of her unconscious allure; if anything, she had gained more.

After a time, he thought she was asleep until he heard, "Jack?"

"Yes, love?"

"Why hasn't my father come for me before this?"

Jack sighed. "Are you sure that you wanted to hear such a long explanation so late at night?" He felt her nod her head. "Fine. Well, after coming after the ship and catching up to it in Port Royal and all of that mess, neither of us thought it was the right time."

There was silence for a moment before, "What mess in Port Royal?"

"What do you mean 'what mess?' The argument with your dear little grandmother and her two body guards! We followed you there and had it out with her. The stupid wench told us that you had contacted her and wanted to go to London."

Mary sat up. "That's a lie! I never wanted to go!"

Jack waved a hand at her to cut her off before her temper started flaring. "Yes, love, we realized that. Now, lay back down and I'll tell you about it all. Now, she could tell that we didn't believe that, so she pulled out papers signed by the king that stated you were to be under her care, else the Royal Navy would be searching for us. At first we still protested, but I remembered hearing something about this chest of gold that had a curse on it and decided to wait for the opportune moment, rather than insisting then that you be returned to us and then getting blown out of the water. That moment never came, however. Your bloody father led a mutiny against me and I was thrown off the ship before I could tell him of my plans."

Mary hummed and was quiet once more. Speaking up, again she asked, "Jack?"

"Hmm?" he asked.

Mary played with a button on his coat for a moment before asking, "Do you remember my old monkey?"

Jack grimmaced. He could see where this was headed. "Mmmhmm."

"What became of him?"

Jack didn't answer for a moment. Finally, he blurted out, "He's undead, now go to sleep."

"What?!" Mary exclaimed, pulling away from him.

Jack waved his hands around in frustration. "The bloody monkey got a piece of that gold that I was telling you about and is undead now. Go to sleep." He pulled her against him once more and smiled when he felt her relax.

"Alright."

Some more time passed and again Jack heard, "Jack?"

"Yes, luv?"

"Do you remember the day I was taken?"

He smiled. "Every minute of it, luv."

"What were you going to ask me?" Mary wanted to know.

Jack heaved a heavy sigh. "I'll tell you about it later, now go to sleep."

**And thanks to a buddy of mine, Mike, for naming my pirate ship. You da best.**


End file.
